Computer Aided Manufacturing

Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM)

Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) started with NC in 1949 at MIT. This project sponsored by the U.S Air Force, was the first application of computer technology to control the operation of a milling machine.

CAM uses all the advanced technologies to automate the operations in manufacturing and handle the data that drives the process. The tools of CAM include computer technologies, CAE [Computed Aided Engineering, and robotics. CAM uses all these technologies to join the process of design with automated production machine tools, material handling equipment, and control system.

A CAM generally contains three major discussions:

Manufacturing.

Engineering.

Management.

CAM increases the productivity and versatility of machine tools. Before the introduction of NC and CAM, most machine tools were cutting metal only about 5% of the time. The automated system available now cut metal about 70% of the time.